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CENTRAL CITY
General Excellence Louisiana Press Association National Newspaper Assn.
A Special Edition of the
Central City News Coming Thursday, Aug. 8 Ad Deadline Monday, Aug. 5
Thursday, July 12, 2012 • Vol. 15, No. 14 • 20 Pages • Circulation 10,000 • www.centralcitynews.us • Phone 225-261-5055
Greenwell Springs at War On Aug. 4, 1862, Central Served As Staging Area For CSA Forces Woody Jenkins
Editor, Central City News
GREENWELL SPRINGS — In July 1862 — 150 years ago — Confederate Major Gen. Earl Van Dorn planned an expedition to capture Baton Rouge from Union troops, who had burned much of the city and looted the rest. He sent Major Gen. John C. Breckinridge and 6,000 soldiers to accomplish the mission. Many rode troop trains from Jackson, Mississippi, to Camp Moore in Tangipahoa Parish near Amite. But most of the soldiers were sick, poorly armed, and poorly equipped. Only about 2,800 were able to leave Camp Moore on a forced march to reach Baton Rouge on Aug. 5 — an all-important date. Only a few months before, Breckinridge had been a member of the United States Senate and until March 1861 had been Vice President of the United States. Breckinridge worried about the bridge over the Amite River at Grangeville but his men were able to cross it. On Aug. 4, they arrived at Greenwell Springs. People came out of their houses to offer food and water to the sick, exhausted soldiers. One officer commented, “Only their rifles were shiny and clean.” They marched so hard to meet For THE WAR, see Page 15
Photo byGarrison Gunter, courtesy of National Scenic Byways Online (www.byways.org) ©2007
150th Anniversary of Battle of Baton Rouge
Henry Watkins Allen Brought to Joor Rd. CONFEDERATE ARMY RE ENACTORS fire a volley, much as Southern troops did at the Battle of Baton Rouge.
JOOR ROAD — Only one person is buried on the grounds of the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge — Gen. Henry Atkins Allen, who served as the 2nd Confederate governor of Louisiana and was a much admired public figure. On the sweltering day of the Battle of Baton Rouge — Aug. 5, 1862 — Allen was a colonel in the Confederate Army. Near the Mag-
Colonel Allen
nolia Cemetery, his men met stiff resistance from Union artillery and the Confederate attack stalled. But Allen took up his saber and led the charge directly into the cannon fire. A
blast cut him down but his men carried on and captured the position. Allen, on the verge of death, was taken up Greenwell Springs Road to a home on Joor Road to be treated for his wounds. [The house still stands today.] Badly crippled, Allen returned to duty, although in November 1862 he was still unable to walk, See FUTURE on Page 16
Mary Todd Lincoln’s Brother Killed on Greenwell Springs Road in Morning Fog Death of Young Confederate Lt. Brought Tragedy To White House
Major Gen. John Breckinridge, former Vice President of the United States, commanded Confederate troops at Greenwell Springs.
BATON ROUGE — Like many in the North and South, President Lincoln’s First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln, had her life torn apart by the Civil War. Although her husband led the Union, she had five brothers fighting for the South. See LT. ALEX on Page 10
LT. ALEXANDER TODD (right) the brother-in-law of President Abraham Lincoln, died on Greenwell Springs Road, the first casualty of the Battle of Baton Rouge.